'Home support' for Pakistan at Dhaka

DHAKA - Pakistan’s cricket team enjoyed massive crowd support at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium Mirpur, Dhaka, as it convincingly beat West Indies by 10 wickets in first quarter final of the 2011 World Cup. The 25,000-capacity stadium was fully charged and supported only one team and it turned out to be a ‘home game’ for Pakistan. Afridi’s men face a different prospect as they head for the semi-final in Mohali, India, but for the moment they were thankful to the fans.

“We would really like to thank all the people who came out here to support Pakistan,” Man-of-the-match Mohammad Hafeez said. Many Bangladeshi youth had painted their faces green and white, waved Pakistani flags with their own and chanted “Bangladesh Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad.” While Pakistan’s crushing win over the Windies will be a moment of joy for their followers, it will also be sweet revenge for the Bangladeshi fans who had seen the West Indies record a thumping win over Bangaldesh in the group stage of the World Cup.